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Batavia High principal to take reins as superintendent

BATAVIA – Batavia High School Principal Lisa Hichens said she looks forward to leading the school district as its next superintendent.

“This is a great opportunity,” Hichens said Wednesday. “I just think that we have the best district around, and I’m enthusiastic about the opportunity to lead that district.”

The Batavia School District 101 board Tuesday unanimously voted to hire Hichens as the district’s next school superintendent. Hichens will begin July 1, when Superintendent Jack Barshinger retires from the post he has held for the past seven years.

The school board in September hired the search firm School Exec Connect of Highland Park to begin the search for Barshinger’s replacement. The search process included focus groups and an online survey that included input from community members, parents, administrators and staff.

The board paid School Exec Connect $8,750 to conduct an internal search, said Raquel Lightbourne-Coley, the school district’s director of communication. There were eight internal candidates for the post, including Hichens.

Lightbourne-Coley said she could not disclose the names of the other candidates.

Hichens, 44, who has been Batavia High School’s principal since 2009, first joined the district in 1994 as a math teacher at Batavia High School.

The school board approved a three-year contract for Hichens. She will earn $170,000 her first year, going up to $172,550 the second year and $176,863 the third year. The district will contribute $12,500 annuity to her compensation each year. In addition, the district will contribute $18,529 for her to the Teachers’ Retirement System the first year, $18,788 the second year and $19,226 the third year.

Hichens’ promotion will leave a vacancy for principal. That position is expected to be filled by March, along with the positions of director of human resources and assistant director of curriculum and instruction.

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